Creating the right packaging design for your product is one of the most important decisions businesses of all sizes can make to increase their sales. If start-up businesses get it right from the start and invest in their packaging design, it can bring numerous benefits; including establishing your desired brand image through your packaging, cutting advertising costs via traditional marketing vehicles and securing more sales.

Why you should invest in product packaging:

1. More sales. You need your product (i.e. packaging) to be distinguishable and stand out from your competitors on the store shelf. You only have a few seconds to grab your target customer’s attention through your packaging design. Remember that most people are time-poor, and have dozens of distractions around them already – so you need a packaging design that will attract your target customer, and stand out from your competitors. You need to spend time researching your competitor’s packaging to ensure your packaging design is not going to blend in and be indistinguishable from all the other brands on the shelf, or be confused with an inferior brand. You need to invest in a great Packaging Designer and/or Graphic Designer to ensure your packaging design attracts your target customer’s attention and curiosity and quickly communicates to them what your product is. If you have a great product, a stand out package and a great brand image and identity, it should lead to sales. “Evidence confirming that the shopper appreciates and in fact explicitly wants to receive stimulation for the buying decision he/she is making when standing in front of the supermarket shelf, often even preferring this to other forms of communication. He/She is keen to be informed and inspired, tempted and pampered by surprising and persuasive functions, emotions and sensual impressions.”[1]The right packaging can increase sales, whereas the wrong packaging can destroy your brand and could mean few sales. “Packaging is one of those crucial steps that is often neglected in business. Ask yourself this question, would you buy a plain looking item or something excitingly packaged that makes anyone drool?”[2]2. To attract and keep customers. Customers can have an emotional connection with packaging. It can become iconic which can increase sales, assist you to gain free publicity, and create a loyal customer base. Think about the classic Coca-Cola glass bottle. This has become iconic and people have an emotional connection to it – oftentimes it reminds them of happy times during their youth.

Again, you should work with a good Packaging Designer and spend time looking at different packaging designs to form an idea of a packaging design shape and graphic design that creates the correct brand image for your product / company, that would attract your target market. Don’t forget you need to have a package that be appropriate to contain your product, and make it easy for customers to consume the product inside. (Remember the term ‘wrap rage’ – you don’t want your customers to get annoyed by the packaging before even getting to your product!). “Through the right mix of art and engineering, your product packaging can be used as the protective barrier that will keep content in great shape and make sure that it will still have the same quality upon reaching the customers”[3]

3. Cut advertising costs. Beautiful and unique packaging can assist keep your traditional advertising costs down. You can showcase your packaging on your website, Facebook page, Pinterest and so on. If your packaging is really beautiful or unique, people may comment on it online and to their friends, desire it, and you may even get free publicity. 4. It establishes your product positioning. Your packaging is the first thing people come across – so make it ‘speak’ your brand. “Packaging plays an important role as a medium in the marketing mix, in promotion campaigns, as a pricing criterion, in defining the character of new products, as a setter of trends and as an instrument to create brand identity and shelf impact in all product groups.”[4]If you are a Fashion Designer for example, and are sending your clothing in apparel boxes to your online sales clients, when they open the courier satchel the first thing they will see is your apparel box, containing their purchase. You need to ensure your apparel box ‘speaks’ your brand. If your customer receives an ugly, cheap looking box, they will immediately have negative thoughts about your brand / clothing quality before even reaching your product inside! If you have a beautiful, quality, branded box, it will become a pleasure to your customer’s eyes and they will see your brand in a positive light before they have even reached your product!If your packaging is on a store shelf, it is your advertising ‘billboard’. You need to invest wisely in your package design – both shape and artwork. Again, it needs to ‘speak’ your brand and be of good quality. People make assumptions on first appearances. You may be selling the best quality, most beautiful candles in the world, and your competitor’s products may be inferior, but if your candles are boxed in a sub-standard or ugly package with a terrible design, people will not even take the time to look at (or pick up) your product to take a closer look.

5. Packaging will help create your brand image and identity. This is especially important for start-up businesses that are taking their product to market for the first time. You can create your brand identity by making the right packaging design decision from the start. It is time consuming and difficult to re-brand so make sure you have your packaging done correctly from the start. Make sure the shape of your package and the design and wording on your package portrays the brand image you want for your business. If you are an already established business and your sales are low, it would be a good idea to review not only your product, but your product packaging – and maybe even carry out focus groups with your target market to get their idea on desirable package design, and why they would chose a competitor’s product over yours. You may find out that your target customers prefer your competitors package design over your outdated one. Or maybe they are not even noticing your product on the store shelf because it blends in too much with all the other brands.

6. Great packaging will add value to your product. If you have a great product, then great packaging will compliment your product and add value by confirming in your customer’s minds that the product they bought is a good quality, beautiful product.

Check our Contact Us page to connect with our 2 great Packaging Designers who can assist you to create the right package for your product.

Author

Clara Cassidy, Founder and Marketing Manager of Custom Printed Bags & Boxes, is a marketing professional with years of experience in branding, promotions and events.Blogging about packaging, branding, marketing, advertising, bag & packaging design and more....

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What Our Clients Are Saying

"What was important to us, was to be treated like we treat our clients: Receive quality products and quality service before, during and after sale. It has been an absolute pleasure dealing with Custom Printed Bags & Boxes because they made sure we receive quality in service and product right to the end. They went above and beyond making sure the delivery was done in a timely manner and kept us informed along the way. Our boxes arrived in store last week and are an absolute hit!" Dana, Founder. Uggys Genuine